Pride and Prejudice
by SissiCuddles
Summary: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." A Huddy story based on Jane Austen's book. M-rated for safety. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

**Pride and Prejudice**

I was reading Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time last month and I got suddenly hit by this new idea for a story. So... major AU! Let me know if I should write more or not. :) A big thank you to Audrey for beta-ing this. *hugs*

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><p><em>Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.<br>__[Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen]_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Like every single family in Princeton, New Jersey, the Cuddy's were looking for two suitable and rich men, who would gladly accept their two daughters as wives.

Mrs Arlene Cuddy was the mother of two wonderful girls: Julia was the eldest, her major feature was her beauty. Her dark blond hair adorned her face before cascading down her shoulders and reaching her waist; her deep brown eyes were always alive with passion and kindness; but she wasn't as keen on the arts like her sister. Lisa was not considered to be as beautiful as her sister, but in many men's opinion she had her own kind of beauty that distinguished her from all the other girls in the small town. Unlike her sister, Lisa had her mother's eyes, deep blue changing into a light emerald green as the weather changed; those profound orbs were always looking for something new, something that needed to be learned and studied, something to keep her mind busy with as her sister and mother spend their time talking about pointless stuff. Her dark brown hair turned almost black during the cold winter days, while they acquired a reddish nuance as the sunlight hit them during the warm summer days; they reached her waist in fluid and gentle locks, waving as her every step. Her full red lips contrasted on her pale skin, the pallor giving her an almost glowing look.

In conclusion they were two beautiful girls, now ready to accept a marriage proposal from a rich and possibly noble man, much to their mother's pressure and pleasure.

Thanks to the family's fortune, they were able to have private lessons from a competent woman, who taught them about arts such as music, poetry, painting and dancing; their mother had insisted upon having someone teaching them everything they needed to know if they wanted to be good wives to their future husbands and great mothers to their children. Contrary to her wife's believes, Mr Cuddy was only interested in his daughter's well-being even if that meant for them to not have a family on their own.

That Monday Arthur Cuddy was quietly reading the paper when his wife joined him in the living room.

"Arthur dear, have you heard about the new gentleman who rented Netherfield estate and park?" Arlene asked, receiving a simple nod from her husband.

"Mr James Wilson, I think his name is. I only hope he is not married yet but still looking for a suitable wife." she stopped testing the man's attention.

"I think he would like to meet Julia. Both she and Lisa are old enough to find someone and have their own families, aren't they?" Receiving another nod from her husband, Arlene dared to ask him something else.

"You should visit him tomorrow and perhaps find out if he is planning on staying here or not. Invite him for lunch, I'll make sure to have everything ready for him. And if..."

"I am sure he will be interested in meeting Julia; this is not the first time you make me do this." he concluded, speaking for the first time. Arlene smiled.

"So, will you?" she insisted.

"Yes, I will but please let me read the paper now," he told his wife as she silently disappeared into the kitchen, smiling gratefully at her husband.

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><p>"I hope Mr Wilson will like this," said Julia as she examined her own reflection in the mirror. She was trying on a new hat to match her new dress. Lisa was sitting on a luxurious sofa next to the mirror, a book open in her hands as she helped her sister in such a "hard" task. Lisa sighed, closing the book and placing it on the sofa after standing up. She walked toward one of the shelves where a great variety of hats was positioned to be bought and paraded around the city to catch young men's attention and make other women envious. She took a deep purple one and balanced it on her sister's head, mindful of her hair.<p>

"This one looks better on you," she commented with a small smile.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Julia asked concerned. Lisa shrugged but kept smiling at her sister.

"He will," she told her, a bit annoyed at her sister's antics but happy that maybe this time was Julia's lucky one.

"Are you sure?" the eldest asked again.

"Positive," Lisa assured, embracing her in a gentle hug from behind. "I'm sure he will ask you for a dance at Mrs Long's ball tomorrow." Julia seemed to be happy and satisfied by her sister's words; she smiled and adjusted the hat on her head before turning around to greet her mother, who had just entered the shop with Lady Lucas following her. She sadly informed them that Mr Wilson, who had previously accepted their lunch invitation after Mr Cuddy had visited him the previous day, had to leave Princeton that morning to check his business in New York. Upon seeing Julia frowning, Lady Lucas immediately assumed that Mr Wilson would probably come back with some friends from the City to join him at the ball. Both girls seemed to believe the woman's words and decided to buy new dresses for the following day.

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><p>Lady Lucas' assumptions turned out to be right. The night of the ball, Mr Wilson attended the party with his two sisters, the eldest of them with her husband and another man.<p>

Mr Wilson was a tall and distinguished man, with a very nice appearance and exceptionally kind and noble manners. His sisters were both young, beautiful and with a natural elegance. His brother in law on the other hand, surely had noble manners because that was required in his social class, but his appearance showed otherwise. The fourth visitor was tall and slim, his short dark hair framed his face, accentuating his beautiful and yet rough facial features, capturing everyone's attention. Soon the group was invited into the enormous ball room where people started gossiping about them, especially about the mysterious man who responded by the name of Mr Gregory House. Less than ten minutes later, people were already talking about his properties all over the country and women were trying their best to find out more and more about him to finally talk to him with the aim to have the chance to dance with him. Women were talking about how handsome he was, men about how virile he looked, until his bad manners prevailed over everything else: he was a proud man, he acted as he was superior to the people he talked to.

He had danced only once with Mrs Hurts and Mrs Wilson, avoiding other women's requests by standing in a far corner with a drink. Lisa was staring at him from a chair a few meters from him, because of the many women and the fewer men at the ball, she only danced once before being forced to sit and wait for a man.

Mr Wilson was talking to his friend, and Lisa could hear their conversation clearly.

"Come on, House, you should lay down on the wine and enjoy a dance with one of these wonderful women."

"You know how much I hate balls, I only come to them for the wine and the women and in this room, there's no woman I could want to dance with and both your sisters are already dancing with someone," he snapped, taking a sip from his glass.

"I wouldn't be so difficult if I were you. It's just a dance, not a marriage proposal," Mr Wilson said with a smile.

"My friend, you're dancing with the only beautiful girl in the room. There's no one else who could be compared to her in beauty," he lied, sounding way too corny for his own taste.

"She's most beautiful creature I have ever seen, so elegant and gracious but I'm sure her sister-" he said pointing at Lisa "- is very beautiful and I'm positive she's also nice and will gladly dance with you," he told him. Mr House looked past his shoulder, looking for the woman his friend was talking about. His eyes immediately widened as he realized how beautiful that girl looked. He took a glimpse of her perfect lips, which were pouting at the moment as she sat on a chair waiting for someone to dance with her; her dress fit her in all the right places, accentuating her perfect ample breast and her thin hips, hiding what he imagined to be magnificent legs. He shook his head and turned to face his friend.

"I can't deny she's… uhm… interesting but I don't feel like doing some charity and dance with the poor women who aren't beautiful or smart enough to be invited by other men. You better go with Miss Cuddy and enjoy her attentions and… everything else while you still can. I will take a walk outside in the meanwhile," he said, glancing one more time at Lisa before walking out of the ball room.

"Do you think he likes me?" Julia asked as she walked closer to Lisa with a shy smile.

"I surely think so. He asked you to dance two times and I could tell that all the other girls were envying you," Lisa said with a smile while her mind was completely elsewhere, wondering about Mr House's words.

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><p>She hated him. She hated him with all her heart and mind. She couldn't stand the sight of him. After he had shared with Mr Wilson what he thought about her, Lisa had decided that she hated Mr House.<p>

Weeks have passed after the ball at the Long's estate and the Cuddy's girls had been invited several times to Mr Wilson's house by his sisters. Julia was always the most welcomed of the two, being the new possible fiancé of the man; Lisa was treated with less kindness and the feeling was mutual.

What shocked her was Mr House's attitude toward her. After the ball she had found him more inclined to talk to her, to spend time playing cards with her. He looked like he might indeed enjoy her company and Lisa was incredulous that the man who had told his best friend that she was a pitiful woman, was now trying to establish a friendship with her.

One day, both Julia and Lisa were invited to the Longbourn house, where they were soon joined by Mr Wilson, his sisters and much to Lisa's and everyone else's annoyance, Mr House.

"I think we should move to the other side of the room, I want Lisa to play something for all of us." Miss Lucas suggested.

"Oh no! I am not going to play in front of people who are surely used to listen to better musicians. I am not..." Lisa started but was immediately cut off by both her sister and Mrs Taub.

"Please, Lisa... Play something for us!" they asked. Lisa sighed and nodded before moving towards the piano.

She closed her eyes, trying to free her mind from every thought before her hands slowly started to move on the keys, pressing on them gently. A couple minutes later, Lisa reopened her eyes and was greeted by applause from all the Longbour guests, Mr House included.

An hour later, most of the people in the room were dancing as Mary, one of Sir William's daughters, played the piano.

"Mr House, I saw you dancing at Mrs Long's ball. You're a good dancer and now I'm wondering why you are not dancing at the moment," Sir Williams started the conversation. House shrugged.

"I dance only when I am forced by the situation," he replied with an annoyed smirk, glancing at Lisa.

"So, you only dance at balls," Sir William commented, receiving a nod. "In my honest opinion, I think you should dance more. Dancing it's such a wonderful art and if you're good at it, like I saw myself, you really should invite Miss Lisa Cuddy," he said loud enough for Lisa to hear.

Mr House stared at the girl as she walked closer to the couple.

"I'm sorry but I don't really feel like dancing," she excused herself. Sir William tried to make her change her mind, but when House asked her directly, she refused one more time and walked back to where she was seated, leaving Mr House alone as Sir William joined her wife.

"I know what you're thinking about," Mrs Wilson said as she leaned onto him, gripping tightly his arm.

"I don't think so…" Mr House said, trying to move away from her.

"You're thinking about how lame all of this is… the people, their manners and even the music they're playing."

"You're wrong. My thoughts are completely different from what you're talking about. I was wondering how it is possible for a woman to have such profound eyes," he said as he scanned the room, looking through the dancing crown, looking for Lisa. Miss Wilson giggled, thinking that he was talking about her, but when she looked up, she saw that his eyes were not on her.

"Miss Lisa Cuddy," he admitted.

"Miss Lisa Cuddy! I can't believe it! You're really interested in that girl!" she almost cried in disbelief. House let her talk, not listening to any of the words that were leaving the woman's mouth.

There was something in that Miss Cuddy that he wanted, no, that he needed to know.

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><p><strong>Review :) Hit that button and let me know what you think :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Pride and Prejudice**

And here I thought I murdered the English literature with this story, poor Jane Austen is probably hating me at the moment... Thanks for all the appreciated feedback you've been giving me, so... this is the second installment of this fic. Another big fat thank you to Audrey for beta-ing this. Read and review

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_Dear Friend,_

_I hope you could join me and my sister, Rachel, for lunch today at Netherfield. Both our brother and Mr Taub are away till dawn and we would love to spend some lovely hours with you. _

_Always yours, _

_Remy Wilson._

Julia kept reading the letter as if her life depended on it; she smiled at her sister before lowering her eyes to once again read the letter. Lisa shook her by the shoulder a little concerned for her sister.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and Julia nodded in return.

"Yes, I am. Never been better Lise. Miss Wilson invited me over for lunch today, thus both Mr Wilson and Mr Taub are not home," she informed her family, a huge smile coming back to her lips. Lisa smiled at her warmly, knowing that this meant that her eldest sister might have a high opportunity to be the future Mrs Wilson.

"This is great, my dear," Mrs Cuddy told her daughter, walking closer to her and planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "This is really really, really good," she repeated.

"May I take the carriage?" Julia asked her father.

"Your dad needs the horses to be here," Arlene replied. "But I think you could ride your own horse to their manor..." Julia nodded and followed her sister to their room. Mr Cuddy stared at her wife from behind his book.

"You really want this wedding, don't you?" he asked. His wife huffed before sitting on the armchair next to him.

"Of course I do," she replied.

"You want this so much that you're willing to risk your daughter's health..." he commented, looking out of the window, noticing that the weather was getting worst and a storm might be coming soon.

"She is going to be fine," she assured him, before smiling. "Mr Wilson will make sure of it and so will his sisters," she concluded before joining their daughters.

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><p>Lisa stood at the window watching, looking outside as her sister rode her horse along the path, directed to Netherfield Park.<p>

As soon as Julia left, rain started pouring down, making the Jersey countryside an enormous puddle of mud. Later that night, Lisa was still at the window, staring at the rain as it fell from the sky. She was worried for her sister, worried that she would get hurt or would fall ill in a house she was only a guest. Her mother, on the other hand, was happy because her plan was going perfectly fine. That night Julia wouldn't come back home, Mr Wilson's sisters would never let her ride through a storm; her mother made it possible that the only possibility was that her daughter would spend the night at the Wilson's estate, under the caring eyes of Mrs Taub, Miss Wilson and possibly of Mr Wilson himself.

Lisa woke up early the following morning as a man came tapping on the window, intended to leave her a letter. As soon as the man handed it to her, she bid him farewell and opened the envelope to find a note from her sister.

_Dear Lise, _

_T__his morning I am not feeling fine, probably because of the cold wind and the rain. Miss Wilson and her sister insisted to have Dr Foreman checking up on me, so don't worry if you heard about him visiting me: it's only a cold and a mild migraine, I will soon be perfectly fine. _

_Yours,_

_Julia_

"Are you happy, Mom? Julia's sick and that's your fault." Lisa told her mother.

"Lisa, don't use that tone with me," Mrs Cuddy replied angrily. "What I did was aimed to have Mr Wilson to take care of her, and as you see I succeeded. He won't let a single thing happen to Julia as long as she's there," she concluded, finishing her breakfast.

Lisa gave one last bite at her toast, before standing up announcing that she was going to Netherfield to visit her sister.

"I'll go check up on her even if it means I have to walk till the Wilson's estate."

"Lisa, what are you thinking? With all the mud out there, you will be covered in dirt," Arlene said, trying to make her daughter change her mind.

"Julia won't care and that's what matters," she said.

"Is this your way of asking me to give you a horse?" Mr Cuddy asked. Lisa smiled at him sweetly, shaking her head no.

"No dad, it's no big deal. I'm not afraid to walk 3 miles for such an important reason. I'll come back late this afternoon," Lisa said, before walking out of the room under the impressed look of her father and the disappointed one of her mother.

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><p>Lisa saw Netherfield park from above the hill and rushed down the side, walking as fast as her tired legs and the mud on the path allowed her.<p>

She was lead into the living room where everyone but Julia was gathered; everyone turned around surprised at her sudden appearance. Mrs Taub and Miss Wilson couldn't believe that Lisa had walked three miles only to be with her sister, and Lisa understood that that wasn't admiration for such a lovely gesture in their eyes, but mockery. However she was welcomed by everyone with kindness and she could see how affection Mr Wilson reserved towards her sister, his words were underlines with love and she smiled, knowing that Julia had won the nice man's heart. Mr House was there too, his tall figure stood out from the little crowd gathered in the room. He gave Lisa a small nod of the head before looking out of the window. Mr Taub on the other hand, gave no sign of having seen her.

"Miss Cuddy," said Mr Wilson. "Your lovely sister is upstairs, I'm sure she'd love to have you here." He then called one of his servants and asked him to lead the girl to her sister's room and do whatever she asked. Lisa was lead upstairs. They climbed up a long white marble flight of steps and entered what seemed to be a huge ball room. Lisa stood speechless at the stateliness of the house; the man cleared his throat, signaling the woman to follow him. They walked through the room and into another hallway. Portraits adorned the walls with their golden frames; every now and then a widow opened onto the immense park, interval by doors, leading to the guest bedrooms. At the end of the hallway, the man stopped and pointed to the inlaid door on the left. Lisa nodded and opened the door to find her sister in a huge canopy bed. Julia was surprised to see her sister entering the room and as soon as she got closer to her bed she draw her into a tight hug.

An hour later they were joined by the Wilson sisters, who spend the majority of the day with them, entertaining themselves with Julia.

It was almost three in the afternoon and Lisa decided that it was time to walk back home. Miss Wilson offered her to have a carriage taking her home, Lisa was about to accept the offer when both Miss Wilson and Mrs Taub saw Julia's disappointment upon being away from her sister once again and decided to extend Lisa's invitation to stay for a couple more days. Lisa gladly accepted after her sister's insistence and a servant was sent to their parents, informing them of the new plans.

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><p>At five, the two women left to get ready for dinner and almost half an hour later, Lisa was called down for dinner. Everyone asked updates about her sister's health and sadly she couldn't five any good news: Julia wasn't getting better, her fever had gone higher and Lisa was really worried even if the doctor had visited her earlier and gave her some meds. Upon hearing the news, both women expressed their concerns a couple times before changing the subject to a more suitable one: on the other hand, Mr Wilson was truly interested in the poor girl's condition and every now and then he would ask a servant to check on the girl.<p>

Out of the whole company, the only person who Lisa found herself willing to talk to was Mr Wilson: Miss Wilson was always next to Mr House, talking to him or trying to get his attention and so was her sister; Mr Taub had only eyes for food and games.

Lisa excused herself and went to her sister room to check on her before coffee was served. As soon as she left the room, Miss Wilson started the conversation.

"That girl truly has no good qualities and her manners! Oh, don't let me start on them. She walked three miles alone in the mud just to see her sister and when she got here her dress was covered in dirt," she said, receiving a nod from her sister.

"Remy, your description could be true but I didn't look at her dress when she arrived here. I was completely surprised that she walked all the way here to visit her ill sister," Mr Wilson told her sister, disapproving her words.

"You didn't pay attention to her appearance but I'm sure Mr House did," Miss Wilson said with a wicked smile. "Of course you wouldn't want your sister to behave like this," she continued turning to look at House.

"Actually, I didn't," he replied. "And no, I wouldn't."

Miss Wilson laughed. "Of course you wouldn't. I think she's so proud of herself for walking so many miles for her sister and didn't realize that she made a fool of herself," she concluded, still laughing.

"She surely shows great affection toward her sister, which makes her very nice to my eyes and heart," Mr Wilson said, trying to dismiss the argument.

"I'm afraid, though, Mr House," murmured Miss Wilson, "that this so called adventure might have changed your opinion about Lisa's beautiful eyes." House could hear her mischievous tone and it sounded so annoying to his own ears.

"Not at all," he replied coldly. "When she got here, her eyes were even brighter," he smirked at his friend and silence filled the room as he slowly made his way out.

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><p><strong> AN: I do plan on following the novel's storyline, cutting of course the less interesting parts. I'll try to focus more on Mr House/Miss Cuddy... I'll try my best. Leave a review and let me know :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Pride and Prejudice**

I'm still on holiday but as soon as I go back to school on September 12th, updates might come slower. Thanks for the reviews and all the much appreciated feedback! ^^ Thanks to _Audrey_ for beta-ing this one too :)

P.S.: If you like gypstep then you should listen to Molotov Jukebox (google it ^^): awesome band where Natalia Tena (Harry Potter's Tonks/ Game of Thrones's Osha) sings! She really has an amazing voice.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Later that night Lisa left her sister's room and felt obliged towards her hosts to spend part of the evening with them. She found them in the living room, playing cards. Smiling at them, she refused to play with them, not interested in losing money against people who surely owned more than her family. She sat at a desk, right under the window and after staring outside for a while she saw a couple books sitting on the wooden table.

"Mr Wilson, may I read one of these books?" she asked politely. The man smiled at her then made his way toward her.

"Of course you have my permission to read these books and all the others in my personal library in the adjacent room. I'm afraid you won't find many book of your likings, most of my collection is still in New York." he said, disappearing in the library. He came back a couple minutes later with a servant, their arms full of old copies of ancient manuscripts and novels. Lisa thanked him with all her heart before sitting by the fireplace with a book on her lap.

Ten minutes later, Mr House was still answering to Miss Wilson's pointless questions. Lisa could see how bored he was by the woman's antics, but kept a straight face. That's what he deserves for being such a prick, she thought.

"How's Miss House, Gregory? I haven't seen her in a while." Mr Wilson asked, looking at his friend from over the cards.

"She's becoming a fine woman." he commented noinchalantly, obviously not in the mood for socializing.

"She's such a cute girl. She's truly beautiful and her manners! Oh her manners, she's so well-educated and also very cultured. And she plays the piano divinely!" Miss Wilson praised.

"I have always been amazed by women's patience. They learn to do so many things." Mr Wilson said. Her sister chuckled.

"It's not every woman in the world, my friend. Only a few can actually master the arts." Miss Wilson said with a smirk, her head moving slightly towards the chair Lisa was seated.

"People overuse the word 'cultured'. From my experience I can count on my fingers the really cultured women I've met." Mr House said. "It's been a long time since I've met one though".

"Neither have I." Miss Wilson confirmed, oblivious to the fact that Mr House had in some way just insulted her and her sister.

"That's because you expect way too much from a young woman." Miss Cuddy said out of the blue.

"Yes, I expect a woman to have many abilities. Everyone expect that." Remy said.

"Of course!" said Lisa mockingly. "A woman must know how to sing, to dance, to play various instrument, to know modern languages and she also has to behave in accordance with her social class and in the meanwhile do everything to preserve her beauty." Lisa said.

"That's not all. She has to cultivate her mind with meaningful books, not petty novels." House added.

"It's not to be amazed that you only know less than ten women who fulfill all this abilities. I am actually surprised you know more than one." Miss Cuddy said, standing up from the armchair she was sitting on.

"Oh, why are you so harsh against your own sex?" he asked.

"I have never seen all those qualities in a simple human being." she said walking to the window.

Both Miss Wilson and Mrs Taub complained, feeling insulted by the younger woman's words, but were immediately stopped and scolded by Mr Taub, who complained about the fact no one was paying attention to the game anymore. Lisa gave one last glance at the room and its occupants, before walking out.

Nonetheless she was forced to go back to the living room to report her sister's situation: Julia was getting worst. Mr Wilson immediately called a servant and ordered him to call Dr Foreman while her sisters, after apologizing, went back to their frivolous conversation.

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><p>The following morning Mrs Cuddy came over to Netherfield Part to finally pay a visit to her daughters. Only after lunch, she decided to head back home, having been reassured for the millionth time from Mr Wilson.<p>

The following days started a routine: Lisa would knit by her sister's bedside, Mr House and Mr Wilson would talk about business with a less interested Mr Taub, Miss Wilson and Mrs Taub went shopping in the nearer city every morning after breakfast and came back just in time for supper and to pay a short visit to Julia.

That night they were all gathered in the living room: Lisa was sitting by the fireplace, a book in her lap, her eyes glued to the yellowing pages of a romantic novel; Mr Wilson was playing cards with Mrs Taub and his wife; Mr House was yawning bored at Miss Wilson's every word while trying to write a letter to her sister.

"Oh, Gregory, do you always write long letters to your sister?" she asked.

"Yes, I do." He replied, not bothering to lift his head up.

"This is so sweet…" Remy said with a smile. "I have always thought that a man who could easily write long letters couldn't write bad." She pointed out. House chuckled.

"They surely are long but as far as the quality of the words is concerned, I can't really judge." He said, trying to put an end to the conversation.

"Such modesty…" Lisa murmured, only Mr House heard it and grinned before continuing with his letter.

Twenty minutes later, Mr Wilson went upstairs to check on Julia, while his sisters and Mr Taub played the piano, sang and danced. Lisa was sitting in a corner, still completely into the book. Mr House was on the other side of the room, his back against the wall as he stared at Lisa's petite figure: she really was beautiful, her black hair cascaded along her shoulders in wild curls, her reddish lips were enlightened by the pallor of her face; her deep blue eyes were scanning the pages of the worn out book, which seemed to be very interesting to her.

Lisa didn't lift her head up, but she knew Mr House was staring at her, she could feel his big blue eyes boring holes in her head. A tingling sensation run through her body but she shook it away. It wasn't time to feel such feelings for a man she hated, or she thought she hated. She tried to focus back onto the book, only to stop when Mr House walked toward her and stopped right in front of her.

"Would you care to have a dance with me, Miss Cuddy?" he asked. Lisa smiled without answering. Surprised or more annoyed by her silence, he asked her again.

"Oh…" she said "I did hear you asking but I didn't know my answer yet. I know you wanted me to say yes in order to criticize my tastes, manners or whatever… That's why my answer is no. And now, please keep commenting with your friends about how poor or uncultured I am."

"I wouldn't dare to…" he replied.

Lisa stared at him surprised. She had thought she would have offended him, but no. He was being kind to her even after her mean answer. She immediately felt something, rising in her chest, an unknown sensation: a mix of lust, malice and sweetness which made it impossible for her to offend him another time. House stared at her as she looked completely lost in her thought, somewhere only she knew; and he realized in that very moment that he had never felt so fascinated by a woman in his whole life. He felt as if he could take a chance with her even if his family would have been reluctant to such a union.

Miss Wilson was staring at them from a seat next to the piano. With a hurt expression she kept singing as Lisa looked up at Mr House before excusing herself, leaving the room in a rush.

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><p>When Mr House went into the dining room for breakfast, Miss Wilson was already there. She smiled at him, offering him a plate with fresh fruit.<p>

"I was waiting for you" she said. "I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me in the park. It's such a nice day today." Mr House nodded, not really paying attention to Remy, his mind was too focused in his memories of the previous evening and of his dreams. He had dreamed of her, of that beautiful girl named Lisa who seemed to have captured his interest in less than a couple days.

Miss Wilson had a firm grip of his bicep as they walked down the path, towards the enormous fountain in the middle of the park.

"I hope that when the happy even will come, hopefully very soon, you'll have the decency to tell your mother-in-law to shut her mouth a little. She has the ability to embarrass herself and with her, her daughters too." she said smugly.

"Remy, I see that you're already planning my future. Do you have any other suggestion for me?" he asked.

"Of course, I have other ideas. There's so much it would need to change. You should change the disposition of the painting in the main hall at your residence. And about Lisa's painting, you really should find a great painter. I doubt anyone would be able to perfectly draw her profound eyes." She said, obviously envious of Miss Cuddy.

"It really is difficult to actually capture the real essence of her eyes." He said. "But I guess a painter could do a good enough job." He nodded before resuming to walk.

Crossing the fountain they spotted Mrs Taub walking down the path with Lisa. Lisa immediately looked elsewhere, but Mrs Taub waved them over.

"I didn't know you were out for a walk too." Miss Wilson said.

"We went out after you; we needed some fresh air." Her sister said, taking Mr House's arm and continuing to walk with them, leaving Lisa behind them. House stared back at her and saw her smiling shily at him.

"You keep walking, I'll be right behind you with Miss Cuddy" he said, trying to escape from Mrs Taub's strong grip.

"Don't worry about me" she said "I need to check on my sister in a while and you three form a very nice scene, picturesque, really." She said, waving her hand while walking away.

This is not going to end well, she thought, still feeling that funny feeling in her stomach.


End file.
